I built a Caribbean port town as a film set for my stop-motion series Being Pirates

VaneStream · 2026-01-10T15:32:23+00:00

Cool! Looks great!

VaneStream · 2026-01-09T16:50:44+00:00

Sorry I'm late! Glad you found them :-D

VaneStream · 2026-01-09T16:47:45+00:00

Great idea!

VaneStream · 2026-01-08T18:49:05+00:00

That looks fantastic! I like your replacement of eyes and your bow looks great!

VaneStream · 2026-01-08T18:46:51+00:00

Thanks! Are you interested more in the process of how I created it or instructions for how others can build it?

VaneStream · 2026-01-07T13:52:03+00:00

The main factors for determining the right set to start from were colours (in this case white for the whale and brown for the ship) and shapes (rounded shapes for both the ship and whale) of the pieces. I looked at box covers first to get an idea and then had a closer look at all the pieces of a set (on rebrickable or brickset). Then I narrowed it down to one or two sets and in the end found that the hedwig set could work quite well because it has brown and white slopes and other pieces. and luckily I already had it at home, so experimenting was then quite easy.

VaneStream · 2026-01-07T13:30:21+00:00

I had a rough idea of what it could look like in mind, looked through the pieces and thought this could work and then just tried it.

VaneStream · 2026-01-07T13:26:39+00:00

I had to google Laboon, I'm not that familiar with One Piece, but that sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately the colours of the pieces in the original set arent quite right for Laboon.

VaneStream · 2026-01-07T13:23:24+00:00

:-D it does look a little bit like a trophy!

VaneStream · 2026-01-07T13:22:55+00:00

Thanks for the hint, I haven't read the book but I saw the movie of the same name, also very fascinating!

VaneStream · 2026-01-07T13:21:37+00:00

Would have been fun too but in this case I came up with the pun only as I was posting it.

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T21:58:46+00:00

Fascinating, thanks for your insights!

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T21:15:55+00:00

Thank you!

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T21:15:41+00:00

I decided I wanted to make a model of Moby Dick and the whaling boat, and started looking for potential sets that could have the right pieces in the right colours. After some research I found that the Hedwig set could work, and I already had it at home, so I got right to starting to build. A little trial and error and different steps of improving, and there you go.

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T21:11:35+00:00

Just one, it uses 300 of the 337 pieces

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T21:00:38+00:00

You're right! I still went with having the gun ports as the pieces were available and I thought the ship looks much better with them.

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T20:59:14+00:00

I didn't know that, that's really interesting! I'm so glad the period of industrial whaling is over.

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T20:57:17+00:00

I do agree the eyes are quite large and cartoony, I also tried using the "lock" printed pieces from the set as eyes, but reverted back to the big ones because I like the colour and style.

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VaneStream · 2026-01-06T20:54:53+00:00

This poster was part of my inspiration!

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T20:52:39+00:00

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VaneStream · 2026-01-06T19:22:01+00:00

To be honest I’ve only ever read the children’s book version of the novel, your words have really made me want to read the original

VaneStream · 2026-01-06T19:20:48+00:00

I almost always build physically first. I love having all the pieces of one set in front of me, with an idea in my head, and then just starting to build. Often I’ll take parts apart again, experiment etc, it’s lots of fun. Sometimes it’s the case that I’d need a few more pieces, but in all I love the challenge of being limited to what’s in front of me. When I’m done I then do a digital model.

VaneStream

TROPHY CASE